Advertisement

Businesses Push for Federal-State Accord on Delta Water Use

Share
TIMES ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER

Forging an unusual alliance, top California business executives are urging President Clinton and Gov. Pete Wilson to agree on environmental standards for the San Francisco Bay-San Joaquin River Delta, saying prolonged uncertainty over the state’s main water supply is threatening California’s economy.

“The continuing gridlock in setting standards for the Bay-Delta is simply unacceptable,” says a letter mailed Wednesday by chief executive officers from firms including BankAmerica Corp., Southern California Edison and Procter & Gamble. “The lack of approved standards is creating uncertainty that threatens the economic recovery we so desperately need. Please commit to achieving standards for the Bay-Delta this year.”

The letter from the executives may put election-year pressure on the Republican governor to reach agreement with Clinton’s environmental aides over how much water to restore to the Bay-Delta for endangered fish and other wildlife. The two administrations have been debating for months over standards for the sprawling estuary, which supplies two-thirds of the drinking water in California.

Advertisement

Although pushing for environmental controls is unusual for business interests, the executives stress that some resolution is crucial because so much water is at stake.

For 15 years, the state has been unable to decide on permanent allocations of delta water for cities, farms and wildlife. Last year, the Clinton Administration, facing a lawsuit from environmentalists, proposed salinity standards that would reduce available fresh water by an average of 9% per year.

The Wilson Administration opposes the federal proposal, saying the standards were set arbitrarily and could harm agricultural interests and cities. Because the state operates the biggest aqueduct that drains the delta, without the governor’s support the standards would not be implemented.

California Secretary for Resources Douglas Wheeler said the state water board will develop its own proposal by Dec. 15--the deadline for the federal government’s final standards--and he is optimistic that some disputed issues will be resolved soon.

“In this letter, they are reminding us--as we should be reminded--that this is a matter of utmost concern to the entire state of California. This is an environmental issue as well as an economic one,” Wheeler said. “We are in total agreement with them about the need to provide a solution that provides reliability and predictability.”

Last month, the two administrations partly broke their deadlock by forming a partnership to work together on Bay-Delta protection. The real challenge, however, remains in developing standards that appease both.

Advertisement

The business leaders said they worry that bond ratings of major utilities, which are now undergoing review, could be lowered because of the lack of water standards. They also said a “water market”--in which utilities and landowners buy and sell water rights--cannot thrive until standards are approved.

The business alliance is unusual in that it represents executives from both ends of the state, who historically have been at odds over the transfer of Northern California’s water to the south.

Chief executive officers who signed the letter are Richard Rosenberg, BankAmerica Corp.; Julius R. Krevans, Bay Area Economic Forum; Richard A. Clarke, Pacific Gas & Electric Co.; James R. Harvey, TransAmerica Corp.; John E. Bryson, Southern California Edison Corp., Robert E. Paulger, Procter & Gamble; Thomas A. Page, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.; Thomas W. Morgan, Semantic Solutions; Paul Hazen, Wells Fargo Bank; Robert T. Parry, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; and Loren Pannier, Industrial League of Orange County. A similar letter signed by Airtouch Communications CEO Sam Ginn was sent by the California Business Roundtable.

The goal of the standards is to return enough fresh water to the estuary to normalize its excessive salt concentrations so that populations of rare chinook salmon and other spawning fish can be revived.

Advertisement